System, Method, and Apparatus for Monitoring Restroom Appliances

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring flush valves includes a plurality of flush valves arranged in at least one restroom, each flush valve including a communication device configured to transmit flush valve data, and at least one controller arranged in a first flush valve and in communication with each other flush valve. The at least one controller is configured to determine a static pressure within the first flush valve, detect a second pressure within the first flush valve, determine that the second pressure is less than the static pressure, in response to determining that the second pressure is less than the static pressure, compare the second pressure with at least one other pressure associated with at least one other flush valve, and determine that the first flush valve is in need of servicing or replacement based on comparing the second pressure with the at least one other pressure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/232,105, filed Aug. 9, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/267,472, filed Dec. 15, 2015, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to restroom appliances and, in oneparticular embodiment, to a system, method, and apparatus for monitoringand/or managing multiple restroom appliances.

Technical Considerations

In most waste water systems, such as the flushing systems for urinals,commodes, and the like, the valves associated with these systems areprone to wear, leaks, and other maintenance issues. With continued orprolonged use over time, or as the internal components of the valvewear, it is not uncommon for these known flush valves to provide adifferent amount of water per flush than they were originally designedto provide. For example, a flush valve originally designed to provide1.6 gallons per flush when new may eventually provide 2 or more gallonsper flush due to valve component wear or use. For large applications,such as hospitals, prisons, stadiums, apartment buildings, and the like,this can lead to an increase in water usage and cost. Additionally,these known flush valves cannot compensate for variations in waterpressure during the flushing cycle that can also affect the amount ofwater per flush the valve provides. In addition to valves, otherrestroom appliances wear with continued usage and require regularmaintenance.

Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a system, method, andapparatus that reduces or eliminates at least some of the problemsassociated with known restroom appliances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention,provided is a system for monitoring flush valves, comprising: aplurality of flush valves arranged in at least one restroom of abuilding, each flush valve of the plurality of flush valves comprising acommunication device configured to transmit flush valve data; and atleast one controller in communication with each flush valve of theplurality of flush valves, the at least one controller programmed orconfigured to: collect the flush valve data from each flush valve of theplurality of flush valves; and determine if a first flush valve of theplurality of flush valves is in need of servicing or replacement basedat least partially by comparing flush valve data for the first flushvalve with flush valve data for at least one other flush valve of theplurality of flush valves.

In non-limiting embodiments, each flush valve of the plurality of flushvalves may comprise a pressure sensor, and the flush valve data of eachflush valve of the plurality of flush valves may comprise a pressureassociated with that flush valve. Moreover, the at least one controllermay be further programmed or configured to determine that the firstflush valve is in need of servicing or replacement by determining that apressure associated with the first flush valve differs by more than apredefined tolerance from a value comprising at least one of thefollowing: a pressure of the at least one other flush valve, an averageof pressures of the plurality of flush valves or a subset of flushvalves of the plurality of flush valves, a median pressure of theplurality of flush valves or a subset of flush valves of the pluralityof flush valves, or any combination thereof.

In non-limiting embodiments, the at least one controller is programmedor configured to determine that the first flush valve is in need ofservicing or replacement by determining that the flush valve is usedless frequently than at least one of the following: the at least oneother flush valve, an average number of uses of the plurality of flushvalves or a subset of flush valves of the plurality of flush valves, amedian number of uses of the plurality of flush valves or a subset offlush valves of the plurality of flush valves, or any combinationthereof. In other non-limiting embodiments, the at least one controllermay be programmed or configured to determine that the first flush valveis in need of servicing or replacement by determining that the flushvalve is used less frequently than other restroom appliances in therestroom, the other restroom appliances comprising at least one of thefollowing: a faucet, a hand dryer, a towel dispenser, a soap dispenser,or any combination thereof.

In non-limiting embodiments, the at least one controller may comprise acontroller internal to the first flush valve and/or a centralcontroller. In some non-limiting embodiments, each flush valve of theplurality of flush valves may comprise an individual controller, and theat least one controller may comprise at least one individual controllerof at least one flush valve of the plurality of flush valves.

According to another non-limiting embodiment of the present invention,provided is a system for monitoring restroom appliances, comprising: aplurality of restroom appliances arranged in at least one restroom of abuilding, each restroom appliance of the plurality of restroomappliances comprising a communication device configured to transmitappliance data; and at least one controller in communication with eachrestroom appliance of the plurality of restroom appliances, the at leastone controller programmed or configured to: receive the appliance datafrom each restroom appliance of the plurality of restroom appliances;and determine if a first restroom appliance of the plurality of restroomappliances is in need of servicing or replacement based at leastpartially by comparing appliance data for the first restroom appliancewith appliance data for at least one other restroom appliance of theplurality of restroom appliances.

In non-limiting embodiments, the at least one controller may beprogrammed or configured to determine that the first restroom applianceis in need of servicing or replacement by determining that the firstrestroom appliance is used less frequently than other restroomappliances of the plurality of restroom appliances. Determining that thefirst restroom appliance is used less frequently than other restroomappliances may comprise determining that a number of uses of the firstrestroom appliance is less than, or less than by more than a predefinedtolerance, at least one of the following: a number of uses of the atleast one other restroom appliance, an average number of uses of theplurality of restroom appliances or a subset of restroom appliances ofthe plurality of restroom appliances, a median number of uses of theplurality of restroom appliances or a subset of restroom appliances ofthe plurality of restroom appliances, or any combination thereof.

In non-limiting embodiments, the plurality of restroom appliances maycomprise at least one of the following: a flush valve, a faucet, a handdryer, a towel dispenser, a soap dispenser, or any combination thereof.Moreover, the at least one controller may comprise at least one of thefollowing: a controller internal to the first flush valve, a centralcontroller, at least one controller of a plurality of controllersinternal to each of the plurality of restroom appliances, or anycombination thereof.

According to another non-limiting embodiment of the present invention,provided is a method for monitoring a plurality of restroom appliancesarranged in a restroom, each restroom appliance of the plurality ofrestroom appliances comprising a communication device configured totransmit appliance data, comprising: collecting, with at least onecontroller, appliance data from each restroom appliance of the pluralityof restroom appliances; comparing, with at least one controller,appliance data received from a first restroom appliance of the pluralityof restroom appliances to appliance data received from at least oneother restroom appliance of the plurality of restroom appliances;determining, with at least one controller, if the first restroomappliance is in need of servicing or replacement based at leastpartially on the comparison of appliance data; and in response todetermining that the first restroom appliance is in need of servicing orreplacement, generating, with at least one controller, a least one alertor message identifying the first restroom appliance data.

In non-limiting embodiments, determining if the first restroom applianceis in need of servicing or replacement may comprise determining that thefirst restroom appliance is used less frequently than other restroomappliances of the plurality of restroom appliances. Moreover,determining that the first restroom appliance is used less frequentlythan other restroom appliances may comprise determining that a number ofuses of the first restroom appliance is less than, or less than by morethan a predefined tolerance, at least one of the following: a number ofuses of the at least one other restroom appliance, an average number ofuses of the plurality of restroom appliances or a subset of restroomappliances of the plurality of restroom appliances, a median number ofuses of the plurality of restroom appliances or a subset of restroomappliances of the plurality of restroom appliances, or any combinationthereof.

In non-limiting embodiments, the plurality of restroom appliances maycomprise a plurality of flush valves, wherein each flush valve of theplurality of flush valves comprises a pressure sensor, and wherein theappliance data of each flush valve of the plurality of flush valvescomprises a pressure of that flush valve.

In non-limiting embodiments, determining if the first restroom applianceis in need of servicing or replacement may comprise determining that apressure associated with the first restroom appliance differs by morethan a predefined tolerance from a value comprising at least one of thefollowing: a pressure of the at least one other restroom appliance, anaverage of pressures of the plurality of restroom appliances or a subsetof restroom appliances of the plurality of restroom appliances, a medianpressure of the plurality of restroom appliances or a subset of restroomappliances of the plurality of restroom appliances, or any combinationthereof. Moreover, determining that the pressure associated with thefirst flush valve differs by more than the predefined threshold from thevalue may comprise determining that the pressure associated with thefirst flush valve is less than the value by at least the predefinedtolerance.

According to a further non-limiting embodiment of the present invention,provided is a system for optimizing a timing of a flush valve to providea consistent flush volume, comprising: (a) a flush valve comprising aflow area and a solenoid configured to open the flush valve; (b) atleast one pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure in the flushvalve; and (c) at least one controller in communication with the atleast one pressure sensor and the solenoid, the at least one controllerprogrammed or configured to: (i) control the solenoid to open the flushvalve for a flush time in response to a flush request; (ii) measure apressure in the flush valve to obtain at least one flush valve pressure;(iii) adjust the flush time based at least partially on the at least oneflush valve pressure, resulting in an adjusted flush time; and (iv)control the solenoid to open the flush valve for the adjusted flush timein response to a flush request.

In non-limiting embodiments of the system for optimizing a timing of aflush valve, the flush time may be adjusted to the adjusted flush timebased at least partially on a number of uses of the flush valve.Further, the at least one controller may be further programmed orconfigured to increment a counter each time the flush valve is flushed,wherein the number of uses is based on the counter. In some non-limitingembodiments, the at least one controller measures the pressure in theflush valve to obtain the at least one flush valve pressure by obtainingat least one static pressure prior to a flush of the flush valve and atleast one dynamic pressure during a flush of the flush valve. The flushtime may be adjusted to the adjusted flush time based at least partiallyon the at least one static pressure, the at least one dynamic pressure,and the flow area of the flush valve. The flush time may also beadjusted to the adjusted flush time based at least partially on a numberof uses of the flush valve.

In non-limiting embodiments of the system for optimizing a timing of aflush valve, the adjusted flush time is less than the flush time toprovide a consistent flush after the flow area of the flush valve hasworn with usage. Moreover, in non-limiting embodiments, the at leastcontroller may be further programmed or configured to determine a watervolume usage per flush, and determine the adjusted flush time based atleast partially on the water volume usage per flush. The water volumeusage per flush may be based at least partially on the at least oneflush valve pressure and a number of uses of the flush valve.

According to another non-limiting embodiment of the present invention,provided is a flush valve controller for optimizing a timing of a flushvalve to provide a consistent flush volume, the flush valve controllerconfigured to execute program instructions stored thereon or incommunication therewith that cause the flush valve controller to:receive, from a pressure sensor disposed in the flush valve, at leastone flush valve pressure within the flush valve; control a solenoiddisposed in the flush valve to cause the flush valve to open for a flushtime; adjust the flush time based at least partially on the at least oneflush valve pressure, resulting in an adjusted flush time; and controlthe solenoid disposed in the flush valve to cause the flush valve toopen for the adjusted flush time.

In non-limiting embodiments of the flush valve controller for optimizinga timing of a flush valve, the flush time may be adjusted to theadjusted flush time based at least partially on a number of uses of theflush valve. Further, in non-limiting embodiments the flush valvecontroller may be further programmed or configured to: determine a watervolume usage per flush, and determine the adjusted flush time based atleast partially on the water volume usage per flush. The water volumeusage per flush may be determined based at least partially on the atleast one flush valve pressure and a number of uses of the flush valve.

In non-limiting embodiments of the flush valve controller for optimizinga timing of a flush valve, the at least one flush valve pressure withinthe flush valve that is received from the at least one pressure sensorcomprises at least one static pressure prior to a flush of the flushvalve and at least one dynamic pressure during the flush of the flushvalve. The flush time may be adjusted to the adjusted flush time basedat least partially on the at least one static pressure, the at least onedynamic pressure, and a flow area of the flush valve. The flush time mayalso be adjusted to the adjusted flush time based at least partially ona number of uses of the flush valve.

In non-limiting embodiments of the flush valve controller for optimizinga timing of a flush valve, the flush valve controller may comprise atleast one controller disposed in the flush valve or at least one centralcontroller in communication with a plurality of flush valves, and theflush valve controller may be further programmed or configured to storethe at least one flush valve pressure in at least one data storagedevice.

According to a further non-limiting embodiment of the present invention,provided is a method for optimizing a timing of a flush valve to providea consistent flush volume, the flush valve comprising a flow area, asolenoid configured to open the flush valve to provide a flush throughthe flow area, and at least one pressure sensor arranged in the flushvalve, comprising: measuring at least one flush valve pressure withinthe flush valve from data received from the at least one pressuresensor; controlling the solenoid to cause the flush valve to open for aflush time; adjusting the first flush time based at least partially onthe at least one flush valve pressure, resulting in an adjusted flushtime; and controlling the solenoid to cause the flush valve to open forthe adjusted flush time.

In non-limiting embodiments of the method for optimizing a timing of aflush valve, the flush time may be adjusted to the adjusted flush timebased at least partially on a number of uses of the flush valve.Further, measuring the at least one flush valve pressure may compriseobtaining, from the at least one pressure sensor, at least one staticpressure prior to a flush of the flush valve and at least one dynamicpressure during a flush of the flush valve. The flush time may beadjusted to the adjusted flush time based at least partially on the atleast one static pressure, the at least one dynamic pressure, and theflow area of the flush valve. The flush time may also be adjusted to theadjusted flush time based at least partially on a number of uses of theflush valve.

In non-limiting embodiments of the method for optimizing a timing of aflush valve, the method may include the further steps of determining awater volume per usage of the at least one flush valve, and determiningthe adjusted flush time based at least partially on the water volume perusage.

These and other features and characteristics of the present invention,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structures and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and“the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional advantages and details of the invention are explained ingreater detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments thatare illustrated in the accompanying schematic figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for a system for monitoring restroomappliances according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram for a system for monitoring restroomappliances according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a further schematic diagram for another system for monitoringrestroom appliances according to the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for a method of monitoring wear in a flushvalve according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is flow diagram for another method of monitoring wear in a flushvalve according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is another flow diagram for a further method of monitoring wearin a flush valve according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a further flow diagram for a method of monitoring restroomappliances according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram for a method of adjusting a flush time on aflush valve according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is another flow diagram for a method of adjusting a flush time ona flush valve according to the principles of the present invention; and

FIGS. 10A-10C are charts illustrating the relationship between pressure,flow rate, flush volume, and flush time for flush valves.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As used herein, spatial or directional terms, such as “up”, “down”,“above”, “below”, “top”, “bottom”, and the like, relate to the inventionas it is shown in the drawing figures. However, it is to be understoodthat the invention can assume various alternative orientations and,accordingly, such terms are not to be considered as limiting. Further,all numbers expressing dimensions, physical characteristics, processingparameters, quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions, and the likeused in the specification and claims are to be understood as beingmodified in all instances by the term “about”. Accordingly, unlessindicated to the contrary, the numerical values set forth in thefollowing specification and claims are approximations that can varydepending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by thepresent invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit theapplication of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims,each numerical value should at least be construed in light of the numberof reported significant digits and by applying ordinary roundingtechniques. Moreover, all ranges disclosed herein are to be understoodto encompass any and all subranges subsumed therein. For example, astated range of “1 to 10” should be considered to include any and allsubranges between (and inclusive of) the minimum value of 1 and themaximum value of 10; that is, all subranges beginning with a minimumvalue of 1 or more and ending with a maximum value of 10 or less, e.g.,1 to 6.1, 3.5 to 7.8, 5.5 to 10, etc. All references referred to herein,such as but not limited to issued patents and published applications,are to be understood to be incorporated by reference in their entirety.The term “mechanical relief” refers to a relief device or system thatdoes not require electricity or electrical power to function in apressure relieving capacity. The term “electronic relief” refers to arelief device or system that utilizes electricity or electrical power tofunction in a pressure relieving capacity.

As used herein, the terms “communication” and “communicate” refer to thereceipt or transfer of one or more signals, messages, commands, or othertype of data. For one unit or component to be in communication withanother unit or component means that the one unit or component is ableto directly or indirectly receive data from and/or transmit data to theother unit or component. This can refer to a direct or indirectconnection that may be wired and/or wireless in nature. Additionally,two units or components may be in communication with each other eventhough the data transmitted may be modified, processed, and/or routedbetween the first and second unit or component. For example, a firstunit may be in communication with a second unit even though the firstunit passively receives data and does not actively transmit data to thesecond unit. As another example, a first unit may be in communicationwith a second unit if an intermediary unit processes data from one unitand transmits processed data to the second unit. It will be appreciatedthat numerous other arrangements are possible.

It will be appreciated that various types of restroom appliances may beused in connection with the present invention. The term “restroomappliance” may refer to, for example, one or more valves (flush valves,faucet valves, shower valves, etc.), paper towel or toilet paperdispensers, toilet paper holders, hand dryers, soap dispensers, and/orother like devices and/or components thereof used in a restroomenvironment. In some non-limiting embodiments, the restroom appliancesmay include flush valves. U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2015/0013432, entitled “Method of Monitoring Wear in a Diaphragm ValveUsing Pressure Detection”, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety, describes valves that may beused in connection with the present invention, although it will beappreciated that various other types of valves, plumbing equipment,restroom appliances, and arrangements may be used in connection withembodiments of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system 1000 for monitoring restroomappliances is shown according to a non-limiting embodiment. As shown,restroom appliances 102, 108, 114 are arranged in a room 124. Eachrestroom appliance includes a respective controller 104, 110, 116 and acommunication device 106, 112, 118. However, it will be appreciated thatone or more restroom appliances 102, 108, 114 may share a commoncontroller and/or communication device. In the embodiment shown in FIG.1, the restroom appliances are arranged in a restroom 124 but it will beappreciated that the appliances may also be arranged in multiplerestrooms of one or more buildings. The controllers 104, 110, 116 mayinclude any suitable computing device, such as a microprocessor, CPU,and/or the like. The communication devices 106, 112, 118 may include anydevice capable of transmitting and/or receiving data such as, but notlimited to, a wireless network adapter, Bluetooth® adapter, Ethernetadapter, radio transceiver, and/or any other wired or wireless mechanismfor communicating data.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the system 1000 also includes acentral controller 120 and a central data storage device 122. Thecentral controller 120 may be central to a particular restroom 124, agroup of restrooms in a building, or even one or more buildings. Thecentral controller 120 is in communication with each of thecommunication devices 106, 112, 118 via another communication device(not shown) associated with the central controller 120. In this manner,the central controller 120 collects appliance data from each of therestroom appliances 102, 108, 114 and stores it in the central datastorage device 122. The central data storage device 122 may include anymemory device capable of storing data in one or more data structuressuch as, for example, one or more hard drives having one or moredatabases stored thereon. The appliance data may include, for example,pressure data (e.g., an internal water pressure before, during, or afterusage of the appliance), usage data (e.g., a number of uses over aperiod of time), a water usage (e.g., an amount of water per usage orover a period of time), and/or any other data relating to the restroomappliances 102, 108, 114. The appliance data may be transmitted uponeach usage of a restroom appliance or in batches, and may representdiscrete usage information or aggregate (e.g., average or median) usageinformation.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system 1000 for monitoring restroomappliances is shown according to another non-limiting embodiment. Here,the restroom appliances include flush valves 202, 210. Each flush valve202, 210 of the system 1000 is associated with a flush toilet 200, 208.The flush valves 202, 210 are each controlled by a respective controller204, 212. It will appreciated that each controller 204, 212 may alsocontrol one or more flush valves of other restroom appliances, and that,in some examples, a single controller 204 may be used. The controller204 may be located directly in or on the valve 202 or at some otherlocation (e.g., in a chase area, behind an appliance or wall, and/or thelike). The controller 204 is in communication with a data storage device206 to store detected water pressures and other appliance data. It willbe appreciated that, in some examples, the data storage device 206 maybe internal or external to the controller 204 and local or remote to thecontroller 204. In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, each flushvalve 202, 210 has its own controller 204, 212 and data storage device206, 214. However, in other non-limiting embodiments and as describedelsewhere herein, a central controller and/or a central data storagedevice common to multiple flush valves may also be used.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the controller 204 is in communication withthe controller 212 for another flush valve 210 installed in the samerestroom, facility, or region thereof. The controllers 204, 212 may alsobe in communication with other controllers (not shown) for several otherrestroom appliances in a given area, facility, or portion thereof. Itwill be appreciated that all restroom appliances in a restroom, part ofa room, group of rooms, building, or region may be in communication withone another. In this manner, the controller 204 may determine the waterpressure after operation of the flush valve 202 and compare it to aprevious water pressure stored in the data storage device 206. If thedetermined water pressure is less than the previous water pressure, orif the difference between the two pressures is greater than a predefinedthreshold, the controller 204 may then obtain a water pressure stored inthe data storage device 214 associated with another controller 212. Inthis manner, the water pressure of another flush valve 210 can becompared to the water pressure of the flush valve 202 to determine if anunexpected decrease in water pressure is specific to the flush valve 202or due to some other problem affecting other flush valves 210 in thesame facility. The previous pressure may include, for example, one ormore pressures for a new flush valve kit. The pressures for a new flushvalve kit may be in the form of a pressure profile curve representingwater pressure over a time period to effectuate a desired flush volume(e.g., represented by the area under the curve). As the flush valvewears, the pressure profile curve will change (e.g., more time requiredat a lower pressure to achieve the same flush volume), indicating thatthe flush valve is in need of repair or replacement.

In non-limiting embodiments, and with continued reference to FIG. 2, acontroller 204 for a particular valve 202 may poll the pressures ofother flush valves 210 or restroom appliances to determine if the valve202 is faulty. This polling may occur in response to a determinationthat a detected pressure of the valve 202 is less than a previousdetected pressure of the same valve 202 or may occur regardless of whatthe detected pressure is. For example, if the pressure of the valve 202is detected to be 45 PSI, one or more flush valves 210 in proximity tothe valve 202 may be polled for comparison. If the pressure(s) of one ormore proximate flush valves 210 is 60 PSI, then it can be determinedthat the valve 202 is faulty. Likewise, if the pressure(s) of one ormore proximate flush valves 210 is also 45 PSI, or within a predefinedtolerance range from 45 PSI, it can be determined that the valve 202 isnot faulty.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a system 1000 for monitoring restroomappliances is shown according to another non-limiting embodiment. Inthis embodiment, a plurality of restroom appliances (e.g., flush valves)216, 218, 220, 222 each have associated controllers 224, 226, 228, 230.In this example, the controllers 224, 226, 228, 230 are in communicationwith a central controller 232, such as a computer system, server, orother type of data processor. The central controller 232 may be locatedlocal or remote to the controllers 224, 226, 228, 230 and may be incommunication with a central data storage device 234. It will beappreciated that, as shown in FIG. 2, the controllers 204, 212 may alsobe in communication with one another directly.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, in operation, the controllers 224,226, 228, 230 communicate the water pressures detected within therespective flush valves 216, 218, 220, 222 to the central controller232, and the water pressures are then stored in the central data storagedevice 234. In this manner, a particular controller 224 may receive awater pressure of any other flush valve 218, 220, 222 to compare to thewater pressure of its respective flush valve 216. For example, if thewater pressure for the flush valve 216 is less than a previous waterpressure, or if the difference between the two pressures is greater thana predefined tolerance (e.g., n PSI), the controller 224 may thenreceive one or more water pressures stored in the central data storagedevice 234 for comparison. An average or median of water pressuresstored in the central data storage device 234 may be calculated andcompared to the water pressure of the flush valve 216 to determine if anunexpected change in water pressure is specific to the flush valve 216or due to some other problem that may affect other flush valves 218,220, 222 in the same facility (e.g., a building-wide pressure drop).

The valves used in connection with the present invention may havepressure monitoring capabilities such as those described by U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2015/0013432, entitled “Method of MonitoringWear in a Diaphragm Valve Using Pressure Detection”, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. For example,the valves may include a pressure transducer that continually monitors afluid pressure within the valve. The pressure transducer may alsomonitor the pressure at specific times, such as when the actuator isactivated, when the valve opens or closes, or at predefined intervals.When the actuator is activated or at some other point during usage of avalve, a controller may send a signal to the transducer to sense thestatic fluid pressure. Based upon this static pressure, a flush time (insome examples, a solenoid activation time) is calculated to achieve adesired flush volume. The transducer may remain powered during the flushto monitor the dynamic fluid pressure and to adjust the flush time.Moreover, the controller may be programmed to supply power to thepressure transducer at intermittent time periods, such as every 10minutes, to intermittently monitor the internal pressure within thevalve.

The pressure monitoring function of the transducer may be utilized as amaintenance function for the valve. For example, the internal componentsof diaphragm valves typically wear over time, which can result inprolonged fluid flow therethrough, wasting substantial amounts of water.Often, such wear causes the valve to take a longer period of time inorder to reseal the diaphragm based upon the time required to build upwater pressure within the valve at the inlet side of the diaphragm. Thecontroller in communication with the pressure transducer may beprogrammed to detect the fluid pressure within the valve after a certainperiod of time after a normal flush is requested and effected. Thetypical range of time required to achieve the water pressure necessaryto effect resealing of the diaphragm and closure of the valve is knownbased on normal operation of the valve. A comparison of the waterpressure after a normal flush at the known time period can provideinformation regarding the wear of the valve. For example, if the waterpressure detected after the predetermined time period is lower than thetypical water pressure value as known, the valve may require servicingor replacement. A signal including this information may be transmittedto a central processing unit, which may then generate an alert to notifythe maintenance staff that servicing is required.

In non-limiting embodiments, the valve may be determined to be in needof service or replacement by detecting the water pressure and comparingit to one or more values. For example, a controller may be associatedwith one or more flush valves. The controller may be in communicationwith a pressure transducer that is located within the flush valve andconfigured to detect a water pressure internal to the valve afteroperation. In some non-limiting embodiments, the pressure may bedetected when a specified period of time elapses after operation of theflush valve. As an example, this period of time may be a time which,during normal operation (e.g., when the valve is new or is otherwise inacceptable working condition), results in the flush valve beingresealed. It will be appreciated that such a period of time may be apreset value or, in other instances, determined dynamically fromhistorical data, time periods associated with past operation of thevalve, time periods associated with other valves, and/or the like.

In non-limiting embodiments, the value that is compared to the detectedpressure may be determined and/or identified in various ways. Forexample, a comparison pressure value may be detected from the same flushvalve before activation of the valve, when the valve is activated,and/or after a previous activation of the flush valve and completion ofthe flush cycle. Further, as explained herein, the comparison pressurevalue may also be a pressure of one or more other flush valves, anaverage of pressures of one or more other flush valves, and/or the like.In some non-limiting examples, the comparison pressure may be based on aprevious or historical pressure for a particular valve in addition to apressure of one or more other valves. In such examples, the pressurevalues of the one or more other valves may be used to verify that adifference between a detected pressure of the valve and one or moreprevious pressures of the valve is not due to some external factor(e.g., a pressure drop affecting an entire building, facility, orportion thereof). The comparison pressure value may also be set by auser through a controller associated with the flush valve or through aremote device or interface in communication with the controller. Forexample, the comparison pressure may be set through a user interface ofa central controller, through a controller local to the valve, and/or invarious other ways. Further, as explained above, the comparison pressuremay include a curve representing changes in pressure over a flush timeperiod. The curve may be a profile for a new flush valve kit determinedfrom initial pressure readings or may be an expected profile for a flushvalve having a particular number of uses or history.

In non-limiting embodiments, the valve may be determined to be faultyand in need of servicing or replacement if two or more detectedpressures are less than one or more previous pressures for the valve orif the difference of two or more detected pressures is greater than aspecified threshold. In these embodiments, false alarms and erroneousalerts can be avoided by waiting for at least one other comparisonbefore determining if the valve is faulty. For example, if a firstpressure is 60 PSI and the next detected pressure is 45 PSI, the drop inpressure could be determined to be an anomaly. Accordingly, in thesenon-limiting examples, a third pressure (or a predefined number ofadditional pressures) may be detected before determining that the valveis faulty. For example, if a third pressure is also 45 PSI, it may bedetermined that the valve is indeed faulty and that the second pressureof 45 PSI was not an anomaly. Likewise, if the third pressure is 60 PSI,it may be determined that the second pressure of 45 PSI was an anomalyand that the valve does not require servicing or replacement. Similarly,if a predefined number of additional pressures are also 45 PSI or lessthan 60 PSI, it may be determined that the valve is faulty.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a method for determining that a flush valveneeds to be serviced or replaced is shown according to a non-limitingembodiment. At a first step 400, a water pressure is detected within theflush valve at a predetermined time after the flush valve is operated.As explained above, the predetermined time may be preset in the systemor determined in some other way prior to detecting the pressure. Thewater pressure may also be detected at any time prior to a subsequentoperation of the flush valve. For example, the water pressure may bedetected before activating the valve in response to receiving a commandto activate the valve. After the water pressure is detected at thepredetermined time, the pressure is compared with another water pressurevalue in a second step 402. As an example, the detected water pressuremay be compared with a typical water pressure associated with normal(e.g., not faulty) operation of the valve. As explained above, othervalues may also be compared to the detected water pressure such as, forexample, a previously measured water pressure for the flush valve, apressure for another flush valve in the same facility as the flushvalve, an average of pressures of a plurality of flush valves, and/orthe like.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, the comparison of the detected waterpressure with another water pressure at step 402 may result in adifference between the values of the respective pressures. At step 404,it is determined if the difference is greater than a threshold (oroutside a predefined tolerance range) such as, but not limited to, apredefined value. If the difference between pressures does not exceedthe threshold, or does not exceed the threshold by more than a toleranceamount, it may be determined that the valve is not faulty or that anyleaking or pressure differential is minimal and the valve does not needto be serviced or replaced. It will be appreciated that, in othernon-limiting embodiments, a tolerance or threshold may not be used andany difference in pressure may result or factor into a determinationthat a valve is faulty. If the difference does exceed the threshold, orif there is a difference between pressures, the method may proceed tostep 406 at which it is determined that the flush valve needs to beserviced or replaced. At step 408, an alert may be sent. The alert maybe in the form of an indicator light, email, phone call, text message,notification in a graphical user interface, record in a database, or byany other means. If there is no difference, or if the difference is notsignificant, the method may repeat after the next flush of the valve atstep 410.

In non-limiting embodiments, and as described herein, one or more valvesmay share a common controller. In such examples, a pressure detected inone valve may be used to determine if another valve is faulty and inneed of service or replacement. However, in other examples, such as thenon-limiting embodiment shown in FIG. 1, different controllers may beused to operate a plurality of valves, and the respective controllersmay be in communication with each other using various wired and wirelesstechniques and protocols. In further examples, the respectivecontrollers may be in communication with a common central controller. Innon-limiting embodiments, Bluetooth®, WiFi, near-field communication(NFC), and/or other wireless communication protocols may be used tocommunicate among controllers. Using pressure readings from other valvesmay help determine if a particular valve installed in the same facilityis faulty, or if a difference in pressure is due to some other reasonsuch as, for example, a pressure drop affecting the entire building orfacility.

Referring again to FIG. 2, in non-limiting embodiments the valves 202,210 may be in communication with each other through their respectivecontrollers 204, 212 in several different configurations. Restroomappliance data may be shared between the valves 202, 210 directly orthrough a local and/or remote controller that receives and distributesthe data. In this manner, the controllers of the valves can detect anerror by comparing its data with data from other valves. For example, ifthere are six valves in an area, those six valves can be considered agroup and one or more controllers of the valves can determine an anomalyor aberration (e.g., if one of the valves is not being used but theothers are) indicating that the valve may be faulty or in need ofservice (e.g., clogged toilet, needs to be cleaned, out of toilet paper,etc.). In this manner, faults that are not able to be detectedmechanically or electrically, such as the need for cleaning, toiletpaper, or the like, can be determined based on a number of uses (or lackthereof) relative to other appliances.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous otherdevices used in a restroom, including but not limited to valves, handdryers, paper towel dispensers, toilet paper holders, soap dispensers,and the like, may be made self-aware using the systems and methodsdescribed herein. In this manner, each device, or a central processor,can compare data from the other similarly equipped devices and detectand report anomalies and aberrations that indicate faulty operation. Forexample, if the system determines that the valves are being used toflush but that the hand dryers and/or paper towel dispensers are notbeing used at a similar frequency, it can be determined that thoseappliances may need service or repair. Likewise, if there are multiplehand dryers and/or paper towel dispensers in a restroom and one or moreof these appliances are used less frequently than the others, it may bedetermined that those appliances may need service or repair. It will beappreciated that various other comparisons between restroom appliancedata for similar or different types of appliances may indicate the needfor service or repair.

Referring again to FIG. 3, in a preferred and non-limiting embodiment,the system 1000 is used to gather information from various restroomappliances, and control and program such appliances and other devices(e.g., flush valves 216, 218, 220, 222 and/or controllers 224, 226, 228,230) through a communication protocol. For example, the collectedrestroom appliance data may be stored in a data storage device 234 andprocessed with one or more algorithms and/or software routines todetermine water consumption, a number of operations, when maintenance isrequired (e.g., batteries need replacing, device failure, etc.),pressure of the appliances, and other useful analytical information.This restroom appliance data may also be used to schedule preventativemaintenance, service calls, order parts, and/or the like. In somenon-limiting embodiments, such scheduling may be at least partiallyautomated. As an example, paper towels may be automatically orderedbased on a number of uses of one or more dispensers.

The restroom appliance data that may be gathered from the restroomappliances 216, 218, 220, 222 and/or controllers 224, 226, 228, 230includes, but is not limited to, flush counts, pressure, light, RFIDdata, battery power, communication range, infrared (IR) pulse count,solenoid current, communication status/information, location, and/ormode (e.g., automatic, manual override, etc.). It will be appreciatedthat, in non-limiting embodiments, restroom appliance data may alsoinclude information sensed and/or collected concerning the environmentin which an appliance is installed. Such environmental data may include,for example, ambient light levels (e.g., luminosity), sound levels,humidity, and/or the like, as detected by one or more sensors in arestroom.

In a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, the restroom appliance datacomprises a number of uses (e.g., flushes) of a flush valve or otherrestroom appliance in a given period of time. For example, aprogrammatic counter could be incremented each time a flush valve isused since a previous replacement of the valve or a component thereof(e.g., a diaphragm). In this manner, preventative maintenance can bescheduled and performed prior to failure of the flush valve so thatwater is not continually running and being wasted. Replacements andrepairs may be tracked by various means including, for example, RFIDtags, barcodes, unique identifiers in one or more databases, or thelike. By knowing and tracking battery voltage, it can also be determinedif a battery is close to the end of its lifespan and the centralcontroller 732, in response to such a determination, may alert staff forreplacement. Alerts may be effectuated via email, text message, pop-upor push notifications, status lights, and/or the like.

Moreover, restroom appliance data can be used to configure and optimizerestroom appliances. For example, using a detected pressure and thenumber of uses/flushes of a valve, the timing of the valve can beadjusted to optimize water consumption. For example, one or morealgorithms may be used to determine water usage from the water pressureand the number of uses. This information can be used to limit or set atiming of the valve. Timing systems are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/309,246, entitled “Removable Time AdjustingDevice, System, and Method for Adjusting an Electronic PlumbingController”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety. The timing of a flush valve may be determined, forexample, based at least partially on a static pressure before a flush,the flow area of the flush valve, and the dynamic pressure during theflush. In this manner, the flush time can be adjusted to provide aconsistent amount of water per flush even if the building pressurefluctuates during the flush.

Referring back to FIG. 2, a system 1000 of flush toilets 200, 208 andassociated controllers 204, 212 is shown according to a non-limitingembodiment. The flush valves 202, 210 each have, disposed therein, oneor more pressure sensors (not shown) for measuring one or more pressureswithin one or more regions of the flush valve 202, 210 body. Pressuresensors may also be associated with one or more flush valves 202, 210but located outside of the flush valve 202, 210 bodies, such as in acontrol stop or other plumbing apparatus connected to the flush valves202, 210. The controllers 204, 212 are respectively programmed to causethe flush valve to operate (e.g., open or close) and to obtainmeasurements from the one or more pressure sensors. The controllers 204,212 may be initially programmed to cause the flush valves 202, 210 toflush with a given flush time (e.g., 1.5 seconds). If flush valve 202 isused more than flush valve 210, for example, the flush valve 202 mayhave more wear. Thus, to provide a consistent flush volume it may bedesirable to adjust the predefined flush time for one or more flushvalves 202, 210. Such an adjustment may be made automatically upondetermining that the pressure and/or amount of usage is within atolerance of one or more predefined values. The flush times may beadjusted continuously or, in other examples, periodically at scheduledintervals. It will be appreciated that various arrangements arepossible.

The flow area of a flush valve 202, 210 may include, for example, theflow area of a bypass hole in an upper chamber of the valve as describedin U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0013432. As this flowarea wears over time, it may cause the upper chamber to fill morequickly and therefore causes a shorter flush with less water. This canbe seen based on the shut-off time from when the solenoid closes and theupper chamber fills to seal the valve. Thus, the number of flushes mayalso be used to determine a flush time because, as the valve is wornwith multiple uses, the algorithm may be adjusted with respect to theflow area of the flush valve to provide a consistent flush. As anexample, if a normal shut-off time is 1.5 seconds, and the flow area hasworn to the point where the shut-off time is 1.0 second, the flush timecan be adjusted by 0.5 seconds to provide a consistent flush.Conversely, if the bypass hole is not worn but the valve body is wornwhere water flows from the main into the valve, the water usage willincrease (for example, 1.7 gallons rather than a desired 1.6 gallons).

The controller 204, 212 can determine that the dynamic pressure is lowerthan it has been historically and, in response to this determination,can adjust the flush time to a shorter flush time to compensate for thelarger flow area to the fixture and maintain a decreased water usage.Accordingly, a flush time may be adjusted based upon one or morepressures in the valve, a usage amount of a flush valve, and/or anyother restroom appliance data. As an example, an adjustment may beautomatically made to a flush time in response to a programmatic counterreaching a predefined number of uses. Such a counter may be incrementedeach time the flush valve is operated, as indicated by actuation of anactuator, activation of a hands-free sensor, water pressurefluctuations, and/or the like. Thus, the number of uses mayindependently affect the flush time and, in other non-limiting examples,may be factored into an adjusted flush time along with one or morepressures obtained from one or more pressure sensors disposed in orassociated with the flush valve.

In non-limiting embodiments, an aggregate pressure for an area may beused to control appliance and/or water usage. For example, by knowing anaggregate water pressure for a plumbing network, the activation ofvalves can be limited or staggered to ensure optimal pressure. Withreference to FIG. 3 as an example, the pressure of a plurality of flushvalves 216, 218, 220, 222 may be monitored in a restroom and used tocontrol the timing of the flush valves. In such an example, if the waterpressure for the restroom is low due to multiple uses, one or morecontrollers 224, 226, 228, 230, 232 may limit the flushing of othervalves until the pressure is stabilized or until a predetermined periodof time elapses. For example, if valves 216, 218, 220 are being used andthe total water pressure available to all valves is low, use of valve222 may be limited until the pressure is stabilized. The pressures mayalso be analyzed to determine trends and/or patterns based on one ormore parameters such as, but not limited to, time, usage, and/or thelike. By comparing detected pressures with trends and/or historicaldata, the system can determine if a valve is running or leaking, asexamples, and generate an alert to the emergency or need for repair.

With reference to FIG. 3, in a preferred and non-limiting embodiment,the restroom appliance data received from the plurality of flush valves216, 218, 220, 222 may include solenoid currents for each of the flushvalves, and the controller 232 may analyze the solenoid currents todetermine trends and patterns of such currents. Using this currentinformation, the controller 232 can be determined whether a solenoid isfailing. For example, if past currents are compared to an actualcurrent, it may be determined based on this comparison that the currentis increasing. Based on the increasing current trend, it can bedetermined that the solenoid is or may be failing. For example, if thetrend of detected currents shows a significant increase in current, itcan be determined that the solenoid did not open and no flush occurred.Current increases as power is supplied to the solenoid coil and a small“dip” in the current trend represents a moment when the plunger movesoff of the seat of the valve. The system can therefore analyze historiccurrent trends to determine if there is an error or fault with thesolenoid or the plunger and that service or replacement is needed. Forexample, if at 60 PSI the small “dip” in current consistently happens at0.3 seconds, and then increases (for example, to 0.4 seconds and then0.5 seconds), it can be determined that there is an error or fault. Ifthe system does not recognize the small “dip” in current, it can bedetermined that the plunger did not move and is therefore stuck, or thatthe solenoid windings in the coil have failed, and that service orreplacement is required.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a method for determining that a flush valveneeds to be serviced or replaced is shown according to anothernon-limiting embodiment. At a first step 500, the at least one firstwater pressure is detected after at least one operation of the flushvalve. For example, this step may entail detecting a single waterpressure at a time period following operation of the flush valve ordetecting a series of water pressures following a series of operationsof the flush valve. The one or more water pressures are stored in memoryat a second step 502. At a third step 504, a subsequent water pressureis detected after a subsequent operation of the flush valve. Forexample, the subsequent operation may be the next operation followingthe operation(s) in step 500, or may be otherwise subsequent to theoperation(s) in step 500. At a next step 506, the subsequent waterpressure is compared to the at least one first water pressure that wasstored in memory at step 502. This step 506 may entail comparing thesubsequent water pressure to a previous water pressure, comparing thesubsequent water pressure to an average of previous water pressures,and/or the like. In some examples, the previous water pressure recordedat step 502 may immediately precede the subsequent operation of theflush valve and, in other examples, the previous water pressure(s)recorded at step 502 may be from an earlier operation of the flushvalve. Various other arrangements are possible.

With continued reference to FIG. 5, at a next step 508, it is determinedwhether the subsequent water pressure detected is less than the at leastone first water pressure previously detected and recorded. This step 508may, in some examples, entail determining if the subsequent waterpressure is less than the at least one first water pressure, or if thedifference in pressure exceeds a predefined threshold. For example, ifthe predefined difference is 5 PSI, the subsequent water pressure is 58PSI, and the previous water pressure (or average of previous waterpressures) is 60 PSI, the difference between the subsequent waterpressure and the previous water pressure is within the 5 PSI thresholdand it may therefore be determined that the flush valve is not faulty.However, it will be appreciated that, in other examples, a predefineddifference may not be factored into the determination and any waterpressure less than a previous water pressure may be enough to determinethat the flush valve is faulty. Accordingly, if it is determined thatthe subsequent water pressure is less than one or more previous waterpressures (or if the difference exceeds a predefined threshold), themethod may proceed to step 510 at which it is determined that the flushvalve needs servicing or replacement. At step 512, an alert may begenerated and/or transmitted to a remote device indicating that theflush valve needs servicing or replacement. If, at step 508, the waterpressure is not less than one or more previous water pressures (or ifthe difference is less than a threshold), the method may continuethrough the next flush 514 and repeat from step 504. In this example,the subsequent water pressure may become a previous water pressure, anda new subsequent water pressure may be detected for the next operationof the flush valve. Other variations are possible.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a method for determining that a flush valveneeds to be serviced or replaced is shown according to a furthernon-limiting embodiment. At a first step 600, a plurality of waterpressures are detected from each of a plurality of flush valves. Theplurality of flush valves, for example, may be installed in a commonfacility. The plurality of water pressures are recorded in memory at anext step 602. At step 604, a water pressure of a flush valve in thefacility is detected at a time following operation of the valve. At anext step 606, the detected water pressure is compared to one or more ofthe plurality of water pressures detected in step 600. The comparison ofthe water pressures may result in a difference between the waterpressures. In some examples, an average of the plurality of waterpressures may be used for comparison and, in other examples, one or morewater pressures of the plurality may be used. At step 608, it isdetermined if the difference between the detected water pressure and thewater pressure(s) is greater than a predefined threshold value. If thedifference is greater, the method may proceed to step 610 at which it isdetermined that the flush valve needs servicing or replacement. At step612, an alert may be generated and/or transmitted to a remote deviceindicating that the flush valve needs servicing or replacement. If, atstep 608, the water pressure is not less than one or more previous waterpressures (or if the difference is less than a predefined threshold),the method may continue through the next flush 614 and repeat from step604.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a method for determining that a flush valveneeds to be serviced or replaced is shown according to anothernon-limiting embodiment. At a first step 700, usages of a plurality ofrestroom appliances are detected with one or more sensors associatedwith each appliance. A usage may be, for example, a flush, a dispensingof a paper towel or soap, an opening of a faucet, and/or the like. Atstep 702, the usage data for the appliances is stored in a central datastorage device and/or memory local to the appliance. It will beappreciated that usage data may be immediately transmitted from anappliance upon a usage event or, in other examples, appliances mayperiodically communicate usage data for a time period. Further, innon-limiting embodiments, usage of a restroom appliance may also bedetected with one or more sensors external to the appliance, such as asensor that detects a change in pressure in a waterline attributable toan appliance or a set of appliances. At a next step 704, the usage datafor a restroom appliance is compared to usage data from at least oneother restroom appliance. For example, it may be determined whether anumber of uses for a restroom appliance in a time period is less thanthe number of uses of a nearby appliance or an average or median numberof uses of a plurality of appliances.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, at a next step 706, it is determinedwhether the difference in usage data is greater than (or equal to) apredetermined tolerance value (e.g., n number of uses or n percent) todistinguish between a small difference in usages and a significantdifference in usage. If the difference is greater than (or equal to) apredetermined tolerance value, the method proceeds to step 708 where itis determined that the restroom appliance needs servicing orreplacement. At step 710, an alert is generated to inform theappropriate personnel that the restroom appliance needs to be servicedor replaced. If, at step 706, it is determined that the difference inusage data is less than a predetermined tolerance value, and thereforenot significant enough to cause any concern, the method proceeds to thenext restroom appliance at step 712 and restarts at step 704 with thatnext appliance.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a method for adjusting a flush time of a flushvalve is shown according to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment. Ata first step 800, a static pressure is obtained when the flush valve isnot being operated. The static pressure may be obtained before a flushor at a predetermined time following completion of a flush. The staticpressure may be obtained by one or more pressure sensors disposed in orassociated with the flush valve. At step 802, operation of the flushvalve is detected by, for example, actuation of a flush actuator,activation of a hands-free signal, and/or the like. During the flush, adynamic flush valve pressure is obtained at step 804. The dynamic flushvalve pressure may be obtained immediately following the flush operationor at a predefined interval from detection of a flush operation. At step806, a programmatic counter is incremented to count the number of timesthe flush valve has been used. This counter may represent a number offlushes over a given time period and may be reset when the flush valveis repaired or replaced. At step 810, the controller determines a volumeof water being used during a flush operation. This determination may bebased on a number of parameters including, but not limited to, thestatic pressure, dynamic pressure, flow area of the flush valve, numberof flushes, a flow meter measuring the water volume, and/or the like.

As the flush valve is used, the amount of water volume used mayincrease. Thus, in one non-limiting example, a model may be employed todetermine that, for a particular flush valve, x number of uses (e.g.,1,000) typically results in a y increase in volume (e.g., 0.1 gallons).It will be appreciated that different types of valves, available waterpressure, and types of use may all factor into determining how muchwater is used per flush. Referring back to FIG. 8, at step 812 it isdetermined whether the amount of water used per flush exceeds athreshold value n. For example, the threshold may be a predefinedtolerance from a typical volume of water usage (e.g., 1.6 gallons perflush) such that any difference equal to or greater than, for example,0.1 gallons or another tolerance, may be significant enough to warrantadjusting the flush time. Once it is determined that the water usage ismore than this threshold and/or tolerance, the method proceeds to step814 where an adjusted flush time is determined. The adjusted flush timemay be based on a number of parameters such as, for example, a volume ofwater used during a flush, a flow area of the flush valve, a number ofuses of the flush valve, one or more pressures (e.g., static and/ordynamic pressure) obtained from within the valve, or other factors. Itwill also be appreciated that the adjusted flush time may be predefinedincremental changes based on water usage. For example, for every 0.1gallons of excess water usage, the flush time may be decreased by 0.5seconds. It will be appreciated that the adjusted flush time may bedetermined in various other ways. At step 816, the controller adjuststhe flush time of the flush valve.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a method for adjusting a flush time of a flushvalve is shown according to another non-limiting embodiment. In thisexample, the number of uses of the flush valve is correlated to a changein flush time. At step 900, operation of the flush valve is detected. Aprogrammatic counter is incremented at step 902. At step 904 thecontroller determines whether the counter has reached a predefinedvalue, e.g., n. If the counter equals or exceeds this value, the methodmay proceed to step 906 and the flush time may be adjusted based on apredefined incremental change (e.g., 0.5 seconds for every 1,000 uses)or on a dynamically determined flush time based on other factors suchas, but not limited to, the number of uses, one or more internalpressures, the flow area of the valve, a flow meter, and/or the like.

Referring now to FIGS. 10A-10C, charts are shown according tonon-limiting embodiments. The charts in FIGS. 10A-10C represent changesin flow rate, pressure, and volume over a flush time period for valveswith differing pressures. The curves shown in the charts represent therelationship between pressure, flow rate, and volume over a flush time,and can be used to compare to operational flush valves to determine whenthe flush valves need to be replaced or repaired or by what amountpressure and/or flush time need to be adjusted to obtain an optimalflush volume. The curves in FIG. 10A are for constant pressure valves,where curve (A) represents a flow rate for a single fixture valve at 55psi, curve (B) represents a flow rate for a single fixture valve at 80psi, curve (C) represents a change in pressure for a single fixturevalve at 55 psi, curve (D) represents a volume for a single fixturevalve at 55 psi, curve (E) represents a volume for a single fixturevalve at 80 psi, and curve (F) represents a change in pressure for asingle fixture valve at 80 psi. As can be seen in FIG. 10A, at 3.27seconds, the 80 psi fixture (curve (E)) has used 1.26 gallons of water,where the volume is represented by the area under the curve. At 3.79seconds, the 55 psi fixture (curve (D)) has also used the same volume ofwater (1.26 gallons).

The curves shown in FIG. 10B are for constant pressure valves operatingsubstantially simultaneously, where curve (A) represents a flow rate fora single fixture valve at 55 psi, curve (B) represents a flow rate for asingle fixture valve at 55 psi operating substantially simultaneously tothe valve represented by curve (A), curve (C) represents a change inpressure for a single fixture valve at 55 psi, curve (D) represents avolume for a single fixture valve at 55 psi, curve (E) represents avolume for a single fixture valve at 55 psi operating substantiallysimultaneously to the valve represented by curve (A), and curve (F)represents a change in pressure for a single fixture valve at 55 psioperating substantially simultaneously to the valve represented by curve(A). As can be seen in FIG. 10B, the volumes for both valves aresubstantially correlated until the first valve (curve (D)) is almostfinished flushing. Thus, to reach the same flush volume of 1.26 gallons,the second flush valve takes 3.99 seconds versus the 3.79 seconds ittakes the first flush valve. Comparing curves (C) and (F) indicates thatflushing the first valve (pressure represented by curve (C)) causes thepressure available to the second valve (pressure represented by curve(F)) to drop, thereby taking a longer period of time to complete theflush.

The curves shown in FIG. 10C are for constant pressure and variablepressure valves, where curve (A) represents a flow rate for a singlefixture valve at 55 psi, curve (B) represents a flow rate for a singlefixture valve operating at a variable pressure, curve (C) represents achange in pressure for a single fixture valve at 55 psi, curve (D)represents a volume for a single fixture valve at 55 psi, curve (E)represents a volume for a single fixture valve operating at a variablepressure, and curve (F) represents the change in pressure for a singlefixture valve operating at a variable pressure. As can be seen by curve(D) in FIG. 10C, it takes 3.79 seconds for the valve operating at 55 psito flush 1.26 gallons of water. Conversely, curve (D) shows that ittakes 4.14 seconds to flush the same volume of water using a valveoperating at a variable pressure.

In non-limiting embodiments, and as mentioned herein, restroom appliancedata may include information sensed and/or collected by an applianceconcerning the environment in which an appliance is installed. As anexample, some restroom appliances may be powered by a battery and therestroom appliance data may be used to conserve battery power. Innon-limiting embodiments, a restroom appliance (e.g., a flush valve, apaper towel dispenser, a hand dryer, a soap dispenser, a faucet, and/orthe like) may include an infrared (IR) sensor for hands-free activation.In such embodiments, frequent pulses of the IR sensor may drain thebattery. Therefore, ambient light levels detected by a sensor in theappliance or a sensor in the vicinity of the appliance may be used todetermine if the lights are on or off and, if the lights are off, thefrequency of IR pulses can be decreased or even stopped to conservebattery power. Conversely, in non-limiting embodiments, detection of thelights being on may activate (e.g., “wake up”) the appliances. It willbe appreciated that the appliances may also be configured to enter asleep mode in such circumstances, which may include reducing thefrequency of IR pulses and/or other energy saving functions. Moreover,because the appliances can exchange data with one another, if oneappliance detects that the lights are off, the other appliances canreact by reducing the pulse frequency of the IR sensor. If an applianceis activated from use, one or more signals may be sent to the otherappliances in the restroom to activate those appliances as well. It willbe appreciated that these techniques may be used for other types ofsensors that consume energy including, for example, capacitive sensors,by either reducing the frequency of the sensors or reducing the amountof energy supplied to the sensors.

In non-limiting embodiments, IR sensors or other proximity sensors maybe used to adjust the amount of water used during a flush. For example,a sensor can be used to determine if a person is standing in front of atoilet or sitting on the toilet based on the proximity of that person tothe appliance. If the person is determined to be standing, it can beassumed that the person is urinating and less water may be used during aflush. Other types of restroom appliance data may also be used to adjustthe amount of water used during a flush. For example, a frequency ofurinal flushes may be used to adjust the water so that, when a restroomis busier than usual, less water is used. The decrease in water usagemay be based at least partially on the frequency of use, oralternatively there may be multiple modes of usage based on thefrequency of use. This could be used in a stadium or other event venue,as an example, where restrooms are busy during events and less busy atother times. In another non-limiting embodiment, the system may includea network device in the restroom or in the vicinity of the restroom thatis programmed or configured to detect peoples' cellular phones or othermobile devices. In such examples, the network device may detect signalsfrom the devices that are searching for Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth®devices, as examples, to determine the number of people with mobiledevices in the restroom. The water usage may therefore be decreased ifthe number of people in the restroom meet or exceed a predeterminedthreshold. It will be appreciated that various other signals emittedfrom a mobile device may be used and, in some examples, that the networkdevice may send one or more signals to activate and detect passivemobile devices that are not actively emitting signals.

It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art thatmodifications may be made to the invention without departing from theconcepts disclosed in the foregoing description. For example, variouscomponents of the mechanical and electronic relief devices describedabove can be used together in the same valve. Accordingly, theparticular embodiments described in detail herein are illustrative onlyand are not limiting to the scope of the invention, which is to be giventhe full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalentsthereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring flush valves,comprising: a plurality of flush valves arranged in at least onerestroom, each flush valve of the plurality of flush valves comprising acommunication device configured to transmit flush valve data; and atleast one controller arranged in a first flush valve of the plurality offlush valves and in communication with each other flush valve of theplurality of flush valves, the at least one controller configured to:determine a static pressure within the first flush valve; after a flushoperation of the first flush valve, detect a second pressure within thefirst flush valve; determine that the second pressure is less than thestatic pressure; in response to determining that the second pressure isless than the static pressure, compare the second pressure with at leastone other pressure associated with at least one other flush valve of theplurality of flush valves; and determine that the first flush valve isin need of servicing or replacement based on comparing the secondpressure with the at least one other pressure.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one controller is further configured to receive theat least one other pressure from the at least one other flush valve viaa respective communication device arranged in the at least one otherflush valve.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first flush valve isdetermined to be in need of servicing or replacement in response todetermining that the second pressure is less than the at least one otherpressure by at least a predefined threshold.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one other pressure comprises an average or medianof pressures of at least a subset of the plurality of flush valves. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein determining that the second pressure isless than the static pressure comprises determining that the secondpressure is less than the static pressure by at least a predefinedthreshold.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one controlleris further configured to: generate an alert in response to determiningthat the first flush valve is in need of servicing or replacement; andtransmit the alert to a remote device.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe at least one controller is further configured to determine that thefirst flush valve is not in need of servicing or replacement based oncomparing the second pressure with the at least one other pressure. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein each flush valve of the plurality offlush valves comprises a memory device having at least one pressurevalue stored thereon for a corresponding flush valve.
 9. A system formonitoring a plurality of flush valves arranged in at least onerestroom, comprising: a communication device arranged in a first flushvalve of the plurality of flush valves, the communication deviceconfigured to receive flush valve data from a remote data source; and atleast one controller arranged in the first flush valve and incommunication with the communication device, the at least one controllerconfigured to: determine a static pressure within the first flush valve;after a flush operation, detect a second pressure within the first flushvalve; determine that the second pressure is less than the staticpressure; in response to determining that the second pressure is lessthan the static pressure, compare the second pressure with at least oneother pressure received via the communication device; and determine thatthe first flush valve is in need of servicing or replacement based oncomparing the second pressure with the at least one other pressure. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one controller is furtherconfigured to receive the at least one other pressure from at least oneother flush valve of the plurality of flush valves via the communicationdevice and a respective communication device arranged in the at leastone other flush valve.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the firstflush valve is determined to be in need of servicing or replacement inresponse to determining that the second pressure is less than the atleast one other pressure by at least a predefined threshold.
 12. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein determining that the second pressure is lessthan the static pressure comprises determining that the second pressureis less than the static pressure by at least a predefined threshold. 13.The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one controller is furtherconfigured to: generate an alert in response to determining that thefirst flush valve is in need of servicing or replacement; and transmitthe alert to a remote device.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein the atleast one controller is further configured to receive the at least oneother pressure from a pressure sensor arranged external to the pluralityof flush valves.
 15. A method for monitoring a first flush valve of aplurality of flush valves arranged in at least one restroom, comprising:determining, with at least one controller arranged in the first flushvalve, a static pressure within the first flush valve; after a flushoperation, detecting, with the at least one controller, a secondpressure within the first flush valve; determining, with the at leastone controller, that the second pressure is less than the staticpressure; in response to determining that the second pressure is lessthan the static pressure, comparing the second pressure with at leastone other pressure associated with at least one other flush valve of theplurality of flush valves; and determining that the first flush valve isin need of servicing or replacement based on comparing the secondpressure with the at least one other pressure.
 16. The method of claim15, further comprising receiving the at least one other pressure fromthe at least one other flush valve via a respective communication devicein the at least one other flush valve.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the first flush valve is determined to be in need of servicingor replacement in response to the second pressure being less than apredefined threshold from the at least one other pressure.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the at least one other pressure comprises anaverage or median of pressures of at least a subset of the plurality offlush valves.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein determining that thesecond pressure is less than the static pressure comprises determiningthat a difference between the static pressure and the second pressure isgreater than a predefined threshold.
 20. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: generating an alert in response to determining that thefirst flush valve is in need of servicing or replacement; andtransmitting the alert to a remote device.